silver nights
by teatart
Summary: While Riley and Farkle banter their way through the holidays, Maya is going through a dilemma that involves a certain southern charmer. [lucaya christmas story]
1. we're walking around this frozen town

New York had another snow storm.

School was out for another snow day due to the unshoveled piles of snow in the street from the recent snowstorm and that left four friends: Riley, Maya, Lucas and Farkle to find something to do other than Skype each other. The actual snowstorm had slowed down and it didn't look too hectic outside. People were around and about, tugging their coats tighter around their bodies and hiding their faces beneath their knit scarves to shield themselves from the cold December air.

Maya had luckily showed up at Riley's house in the morning before the storm got too serious and was seated on their gray plush couch, sipping on hot chocolate that Cory had made for her, Riley and Auggie.

Her best friend wasn't savoring the warm sweet drink though, instead she was video chatting with Lucas and Farkle.

"This is so unfair that we're stuck inside. What kind of kids are we if we're not enjoying the snow?" Riley said to her laptop on her lap. The two fools that Maya considered friends nodded their head in agreement.

"Besides, how will I be able to beat Riley again at our annual snowman competition?" said Farkle innocently. Maya rolled her eyes, already anticipating what was about to come thanks to his little remark. The tall brunette placed her mug down angrily before popping her face in the camera to scowl.

"Excuse me, Farkle?" She hissed, "You didn't win anything. You cheated."

"Wait, what are you guys talking about?" asked Lucas, who looked incredibly confused. Maya was shaking her head at him, signaling that he shouldn't ask unless he wanted an earful. But of course, he didn't listen.

Then Riley and Farkle were talking at the same time and it was a jumble of words and sentences that made no sense. Finally, they seemed to agree on something, "Rematch!" The two said in unison. "Same place as always." Farkle added.

"Oh great." The small blonde said before her friend shouted, "We're settling this."

"But I-" She tried to argue but Riley wasn't having it. She shut the laptop without saying goodbye and pulled Maya towards the door. Maya knew she was no match for her friend's competitiveness.

* * *

The two girls waited outside in the cold, Maya shaking from the cold and Riley shaking with anger while on the phone with Cory.

"I know dad. I'll be home soon. I just needed to do something really quick."

There was lecturing and a lot of eye rolls on Riley's part but they hung up the phone on somewhat good terms.

Maya turned to face her lanky companion, "Is he mad?"

Riley nodded, "Yeah, about me leaving my mug full of hot chocolate. He said that's the last time he makes me some."

A chuckle escaped Maya's lips at how ridiculous Cory was. Only he would be the father to get mad at his daughter for not drinking his hot chocolate, nevermind that she left the house without telling him.

But her smile didn't last long because her eyes landed on her skinny friend. And Lucas?

"Lucas, what are you doing here?" asked Maya though she didn't look upset about it, she looked kind of relieved.

Farkle, who had been walking beside him, quickly stepped behind him, "I brought him as a means of protection. In case _she," _He pointed at Maya, "loses it again."

"And I brought supplies." He held up a brown paper bag that looked heavy and full.

Narrowing her eyes at the two of them, Riley said, "Let's to do this then." And then they were off, rolling snow and trying to pile it on top of the other in an organised fashion.

Riley's snowman looked almost perfect, her small hands were able to shape the snow fairly easily. Nothing could disturb the two of them as they hurried to outdo each other.

Maya and Lucas stood far off toward the benches, looking on, amused.

"Twenty bucks on Farkle." said Lucas with a smirk and Maya tilted her head up to look at him, "Please. I want more than twenty bucks after Riley wins."

He nodded, the smirk still on his lips before the two of them took a seat on the bench. She could put on a facade for as long as he could. The previous night, had been crazy and made absolutely no sense.

Last night, Lucas' father was stuck in Texas because of the snowstorm in New York. And for some reason, he had come to Maya. The one who teased him and argued with him and yet understood how it felt to be without a parent. Then the two had almost...

She shook herself, thinking how ridiculous she was being. Lucas obviously was upset and she had unusual sympathy for him. That was it. He seemed perfectly southern and chipper today.

Suddenly, she felt a numbing cold go down her spine and it didn't register in Maya's brain what it might be until she saw the grin on Lucas' face. He'd put snow in her coat.

"You asshole!" She took snow from beside her and tried throwing it at him but he already moved and he was running to hide. Maya cursed her little legs and the small distance they could carry her because he made it to a crowd of trees where it was difficult to find him.

Her super sonic hearing did not kick in at that moment because she didn't even hear Lucas coming from behind her until they were both on the ground, the result of him tackling her.

Crap, it was cold. But there was warmth, not just from his body that practically consumed her but his eyes. They were light and so unbelievably beautiful and he was so _close_.

Their breaths mingled and then, "Maya! Lucas! Where are you guys! Riley is being a sore loser!"

"Am not!" Her voice echoed.

The spell was gone but Maya wasn't finished, "What were we doing?"

She was testing him. To see if he really felt the way that he acted the previous night, "I don't know."


	2. decorating all the twinkly lights

**a|n - thank you to everyone that is interested in this! Your reviews/favorites/follows mean the world!**

* * *

"Pass me the red one."

Maya picked up the ruby ornament and handed it to her tall friend with shaky hands.

Everything about yesterday had her feeling unbalanced. They'd almost kissed and she had wanted it to happen.

Just like she had wanted it to happen the night before. Damn that stupid cowboy!

"You alright, Maya? You seem…off."

He was even ruining one of her simple pleasures when it came to the holidays. And that's decorating the tree. Better yet, the Matthews' tree since her mother couldn't afford to get anything more than a small glowing Christmas tree.

Just ignore it. Ignore any giddy feeling that occurred when the Texan boy would appear in her head. Ignore his flushed cheeks from the cold and his beautiful and daunting blue eyes.

Then just like that, butterflies erupted in her stomach and she was left breathless by the just the memory of him.

"No, I-I'm fine. Just tired. Didn't get much sleep last night."

The four of them had gone to Riley's, instead of being in the cold any longer. But Maya couldn't shake the intense look he gave her when they toppled over.

They watched _Elf_ and Maya didn't remember much except that Lucas had insisted on sitting next to her. Farkle and Riley talked throughout the whole movie, bickering about the popcorn.

"I swear, Farkle, if you grab another huge handful of popcorn, I'm going to dump the rest on your head." Riley hissed, trying to make sure not to speak too loudly but failing.

Lucas' hand was dangerously close to her own and touching his hand was effecting her incredibly but he remained indifferent.

Riley grabbed her best friend's hand and dragged her to her room, and sat them both down by the window.

She sighed, "Okay, now you're going to tell me what's wrong."

Sometimes, it was annoying how well they knew each other. But, Maya wasn't going to let her know what was wrong just yet. She already knew what Riley was going to say anyway.

"You like him! No, you're in love with him! Now, you two will be able to go on carriage rides and cuddle together when it's cold…"

No. Maya shuddered mentally.

That wasn't what she wanted. Her and Ranger Rick? Cuddling? Acting sickeningly sweet? Even going on carriage rides? What a joke.

Instead Maya opted for telling her friend a very vague truth, "Something happened two nights ago…with a guy. We talked for a while and then things just got so intense that we almost kissed. Now, I think about him and get all nervous and weird. I don't like him." She added the last part at the growing grin that Riley was currently sporting.

But her friend simply nodded, "I think you do. You're getting butterflies in your stomach!"

"I already told you I don't like him!"

"You're right," Riley beamed, "You love him!"

Maya grabbed a pillow and threw it at her. Love, it was such a strong word to use on a boy she just started as seeing as more than just a friend.

Wait, what?

Lucas was always going to be Ranger Rick. He was always going to be strumming on his guitar singing about cattle and farms. He was measly part of her daily entertainment every day. Their banter was something she never wanted to change.

"I don't lik-"

The sound of the window opening stopped Maya from continuing further. And it was no surprise that on the opposite side of the window was a skinny boy who seemed way too comfortable on the fire escape.

With a flip of his hair he greeted them, "Ladies."

"Farkle! Get out, Maya is professing her love for a mystery guy." Riley got up to push him out from over Maya's shoulder.

He turned to the blonde beside him, now curious, "No way! I want to know who the guy is competing for my woman!"

Maya rolled her eyes at that, "Whatever, I'm done confessing anyway." She went to get up to leave but Riley pulled her back down.

"You're going to finish because for the first time, you seem to actually like someone. I want to know who it is!"

"Me too." Farkle said which earned him a glare from Riley.

She took a deep breath, she didn't like Lucas. That just wasn't possible.

But why did everything that she felt match up to what Riley said. Lucas was Mr. Perfect. The two of them wouldn't suit each other.

She was Little Miss Rebel.

And she liked her reputation, she didn't want to change any part of it and Lucas probably thought the same about his own. They'd probably drive each other crazy with their disagreements. But maybe, just maybe the universe could use something unconventional.

Before Maya could stop her mouth she said, "Lucas. The guy I think I might be in _like_ with is Lucas."


	3. life's a snow globe when we're together

**a|n - next and last chapter will be posted on christmas eve :)**

* * *

Maya was beginning to worry about her friend. Because while Farkle took the news with ease and a surprising, "I saw that coming." Her best friend had yet to recuperate.

"Riley?" She waved her hand in front of the gaping girl. A few moments later, she seemed to snap out of whatever trance she had been in and began to grin so widely, she could give the Grinch a run for his money.

"How could I have been so blind? You two are so in love with each other." And the way she said it made it sound like it was obvious. Like if someone had asked her if she had brown hair.

Maya jumped up out of her spot by the window, which made room for Farkle who got out of the cold outside and took her seat, "No! Me and Lucas aren't in love. I'm only sixteen, how would I know what love is? Besides, me and him would be a joke."

Riley's smile softened, "A joke? Don't you want to be with him?"

The topic was beginning to give her a headache. Didn't anyone else see how completely wrong they were together?

People saw the four of them and would automatically assume that Lucas and Riley were dating because it made sense.

Their relationship would be healthy and good. Onlookers would be green with envy at the sight of Lucas, the good boyfriend bringing his good girlfriend an ice cream cone with a peck on the cheek. It would be so sweet and juvenile.

Lucas and Maya would be like fire and ice. Their relationship would be too intense and they would be so deeply intertwined in each other's lives that they could end up destroying one another.

"How do you know Lucas isn't in love with you? Why wouldn't he be?" Farkle asked curiously.

Her unusual insecurity was beginning to peek through her tough skin of confidence. It was crawling around in her brain, making her second guess and doubt everything about the cowboy.

"Farkle, cut it out." She said softly, her blue eyes trained on her pale bare feet.

But before he could respond, Riley cut him off, "No. Maya, you're the most confident person I know but for some reason you have doubts when it comes to Lucas. Tell me why it seems to be so impossible for Lucas to feel the same way about you as you do about him."

"Because I'm not kind and giving like the girls he's been with!" Maya shouted before she could stop herself. She was angry. Angry at Riley and Farkle for not dropping the subject when she was clearly uncomfortable about it. Angry at Lucas for making her feel things that she didn't want to and face the hard truth about her feelings for him. And she was angry at herself for feeling so vulnerable. "They were all sweet and nice and I'm…not."

The look of intense determination on Riley's face melted away, "He likes you anyway. Any guy would."

Maya scoffed softly before shaking her head, "You don't need to try to make me feel better, Riles. I'm going to get some air."

Before Riley or Farkle could say anything to her, she sped out the door. She grabbed her coat from the couch and was out of the apartment within seconds.

There was no snowstorm that day but thankfully it was the weekend. Maya trudged carefully over ice that the city hadn't thrown salt over yet and tried her hardest to get her head out of the clouds.

Stop thinking about him.

Stop thinking about him.

Stop.

That was her motto for the rest of the day that she spent walking around Central Park.

* * *

Maya was surprised that Riley had called her like a maniac. She had disappeared for more than six hours and then didn't even bother returning to the Matthews' house, she just went home to try to distract herself.

Fortunately, walking made her extremely tired and falling asleep was fairly easy.

She might've slept for about two hours though it felt like two seconds because there was thumping coming from her window. Maya groaned before placing the pillow on her head to block out the noise.

But the person didn't relent.

Instead, their tactic was to become more annoying and it was working.

Eventually, Maya lifted her body to the window, taking the pillow with her to smack the person for waking her up.

But when Maya moved her curtain and opened the window, all the swear words got caught in her throat at the sight of the man in front of her.

Looking up, her eyes meeting his beautiful blue ones, she was frozen in her place. Because there he was, the boy that had been screwing with her brain the whole day.

Lucas Friar.


	4. nothing like these silver nights with u

"What are you doing here?" She asked him but he simply ignored her and stepped into her bedroom and out of the cold.

Lucas' eyes looked around the room as if he was seeing it for the first time. Then his wandering stopped at Maya.

The small girl who could feel her strong resolve slipping. His flushed cheeks and breathless smile had a tendency to turn her to mush.

"Hey." He replied stepping closer. Without thinking, Maya stepped back. And that made the farm boy's eyebrows furrow in concern.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I should be asking you that. What's wrong with you?" Her voice wavered and her palms were beginning to sweat, everything seemed to be wrong with her.

A smile returned to his face though it was small. "Why would anything be wrong with me?"

"Because you came here."

Lucas stopped trying to approach her. She was almost worried that se upset him but he just looked confused.

"Do you think I only come to see you when something is wrong? Because that's not true."

He was being sweet and she knew that if she ended up looking at him, she'd probably do something inappropriate.

Maya took a deep breath, "You don't have to be nice to me, Lucas."

The cowboy was only a few inches away from her after she said that. She could see the outline of his sneakers in the dark as she stared at her own feet.

Gosh, she was so pathetic.

Suddenly a warm hand came to lift her chin and then she was looking in his deep blue eyes.

"You think I'm just coming here to be nice?" His eyes were so intensely fixated on her, she found it hard to focus on anything else. "It's like you can't even understand how I feel about you."

There were no words. Because he couldn't possibly mean...

"I think I'm–"

"Stop."

Something in her head had suddenly hit the panic button. He wasn't allowing her to think clearly and that was never good.

"Maya–"

"Just stop."

"Then answer this question for me." He whispered and Maya could feel that his question wasn't going to help her current situation.

"Do you love me?"

The way he said it made him sound so vulnerable. And she couldn't not look at him, his voice was breaking her heart.

She replied, "Lucas..."

"Answer and then I'll do whatever you want. Leave, stay, I'll do it."

Maya shook her head, "Yes, I–"

The rest of her sentence was a mystery because the moment the word yes left her lips, Lucas pressed his lips against hers.

It was sweet and soft. There was no rush or urgency and it surprised Maya that Lucas was the one to pull away.

His lips curved up into a smile as he pressed his forehead to hers.

"I love you too." He said.

* * *

Riley couldn't stop smiling when the happy couple visited her on Christmas Day.

She was grinning from ear to ear, completely ecstatic for her best friend. Then Farkle came over and it all went downhill from there.

"No, Farkle. I'm not kissing you, that's not even a real mistletoe."

"It is too. C'mon Riley. It's Christmas."

She rolled her eyes and sighed, "Fine, one kiss but on the cheek."

Maya and Lucas knew what their skinny friend was plotting the moment they saw the mistletoe.

Riley leaned in with her lips puckered and then at the very last second, Farkle turned his head and stole a kiss.

And it left Riley livid, "Farkle!"

* * *

**a | n - sorry this was updated later than planned. my computer was not cooperating but anyway I hope you enjoyed this story!  
**

**merry christmas everyone!**


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